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Healthy Long Term Emergency Food Storage Menus

If you've taken the long term emergency food storage challenge with me here at Ready Set Go Kits Blog, then you've probably stumbled upon the million dollar question: how do you make food storage menus that are healthy and nutritious? I enlisted the help of Shirley Brown, a food and fitness blogger at SweetCheeks. Shirley is a personal trainer, a CrossFit competitor and loves to show how food and fitness can be exciting and fun. Shirley focuses on recipes that are colorful, nutritious and easy to make without a lot of time. She's put together a three day long term emergency food storage grocery list and menu for you to use that is healthy, nutritious and will keep your energy levels high during a crisis:

Sweet Cheeks Emergency Foods ListUntil the other day long term food storage hadn’t crossed my mind. But, Amy at Ready Set go Kits asked me what I would store for 3 days of food. I keep my diet mostly Paleo, which means I eat lots of fresh vegetables, meats, eggs, nuts, seeds and fruits. In an emergency situation with no power, my eggs and meat wouldn’t last long and I would have to vary what I would normally eat. If I didn’t do this I would be stuck eating jerky and nut butter (which I totally love). But understand that my body wouldn’t be happy eating only that for three days in a row. I often create my normal shopping list in terms of food groups, so I’ll identify my foods that way.Protein:Canned SardinesCanned tunaCanned SalmonDried beef/jerkey productsFrozen food:Pre cooked Shrimp, salmon, turkey/beef pattiesThe canned stuff is easy to store, though usually high in sodium, so I’ll have to make sure to drink enough water and not to eat too many canned items.Carbohydrates:Dried fruitCranberries, apricots, raisins and prunes. Remember these are really high in sugar so I don’t get to eat as many as if they were fresh!Canned fruitPeaches, pears, pineapple etcCanned vegetables/condiments:Tomato sauces, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, green beansDried goods:Oatmeal, quinoaFat:Raw unsalted NutsNut butters-almond, cashew, peanut, sesameOlives-any variety in a jar (again high in sodium)Now that I’ve got the foods that I would store, what would I actually eat?Breakfast: 1 serving of oatmeal (1/2 dry) oatmeal with dried fruit, nuts and jerkyLunch: canned tuna or chicken mixed with cranberries and nuts. Serve with some canned fruit on the sideSnack: jerky and trail mix or a Paleo kit (check out www.paleokits.org) they have 6 week shelf life.Dinner: Frozen shrimp served with artichoke hearts and olives in tomatoes sauce.If it’s just me I might be eating the same meal for lunch as dinner-being that if I open a can of something, it’s not going to last long with out refrigeration. I’ll have to put enough water away to both drink and cook with so 1.5 gallons per day is what I am going to go with. I would also store some coconut water, which I’m not sure of the shelf life, and have to admit tastes much better when chilled, but is like natures Gatorade and can be helpful to re-hydrate.Many thanks for healthy and easy menu Shirley! If you are interested in reading more about a Paleo lifestyle, please visit Shirley's food and fitness blog: SweetCheeks.